Sticks and Stones
by Noel14
Summary: "So tell me, Ninka. Who do you think deserves their happiness more: you or Yuzuki?" Everyone she knew had called her selfish, so she should be able to answer him no problem... But then why did she find this question to be so difficult? OCxIzayaxOC
1. Poke Poke Poke

**Ugh. Durarara has become way too addicting for it to be good for me. -_-'**

**Alright, so this is yet another Durarara story of mine… just a little something for the sole purpose of my two OC's and Iza-Kun, because as much of a little creeper he is, I can't help but love him. This story will probably only have a few chapters to it… like ten to twenty, but even so, it'll be filled with four cups of angst, a tablespoon of romance, a dash of friendship, and a pinch of insanity to it.**

**Anyhow, I was having some major issues with deciding if I should put this up yet or not, but whatever. I'll probably just edit and re-post this or something some time. And this is my first time trying out the First Person Omniscient Point of View, so it might not be that good. Just… read and tell me what you think, I guess.**

**And with this being said, I bring you my new story!**

**The Last Noel Productions Presents:**

**Sticks and Stones**

**By: Noel14**

**Disclaimer: Durarara is, in every way, shape, and form, a hundred percent **_**not**_** mine. I only own the Hasegawa family and the Yezhov family.**

**Chapter 1: Poke… Poke… Poke…**

_"Isn't it beautiful, Ninka?"_

Ninka closed her eyes and stood out in the rain, spreading her arms out wide and spinning around both gleefully and gracefully. Her palms were open and facing out towards the sky, as if trying to catch the drops and a large grin had spread over her face.

"I'm singing in the rain~" She sang loudly and very out-of-tune to the tight crowd of Ikebukuro pedestrians that all gave her odd looks, "Just singing in the rain~" Her voice bellowed out into the city, but was easily lost in the large sea of people and voices that moved around her.

It was just another day. Just another day out in the streets where she thoroughly disturbed the citizens of her beloved city with her antics and enjoyed every second of it. The inquisitive and weary stares she received from the people around her thrilled her and made her so excited and happy.

So many people! _So many people!_ _**So many people!**_ _**So many people!**_

_"Aren't they great?"_ A little voice whispered to her from the inside of her mind. Ninka bobbed her head up in down with a large smile on her face as if she was answering this small little voice. _"So go out and tell the world!"_

"Oh, I'm so _happy_!" Ninka finally finished spinning and wrapped her arms around herself in a tight embrace, smile widening. "I Love you!" She opened her eyes, revealing light yellow irises and shouted out to the now slightly apprehensive people around her, who took notice that she carried a heavy Russian accent. "I love you all!" She unraveled herself once more and reached out to some of the people surrounding her, as if trying to hug them. "I love you all so much!" Once it appeared that nobody wanted to take her token of love and appreciation, she began spinning with her eyes closed once again. "You all make me so happy! So happy! So happy! So happy! So-"

"Why do we make you so happy Annie-Chan?" **(1*)**

_"It's him..."_

The possibly mentally disturbed girl spun around, pale yellow eyes meeting bright red ones and her smile widened even more than before. "Oh, Iza-Kun! It's great to see you again!" She quickly rushed up to the boy, whom had a wide smirk on his face, and began walking along beside him. "It feels like forever since we got to see you last!"

_"Oh, so very long..."_

The red eyed boy snickered at this, paying no attention to the plural tense that she used when describing herself. "It's only been a day, Annie-Chan!" He told her in an amused tone. "I saw you around this time yesterday, you know."

"Yes, of course I know," she said, suddenly lunging at him and hugging his arm, leaning her head into his shoulder. Izaya gave little notice of this, just gently shrugged her off with a smirk. He'd learned long ago that she was simply a very touchy person, quite literally, and simple methods were best to get her off. "We just get a little lonely without you, Iza-Kun. Home school is sooo~ boring and there's nobody there but us, so I can't even doze off or daydream without being caught!" He cheeks puffed out like a five-year-old child's. "It's no fair!" She kicked at a rock with her foot when, suddenly her face lit up with an idea and her trademark grin was back in place. "Oh, I've got an idea, Iza-Kun!"

Izaya barely even gave her a sideways glance, but his smirk was still in place. "And what would that be, Annie-Chan?"

"You should stop working all the time and be my new teacher! You're smart, right? And then we won't have to be so bored all the time!"

Izaya chuckled to himself and turned to the childish teen slightly to ruffle the top of her head of black hair. "You know I'd love to take you up on that offer, Annie-Chan, but I've got work to do, you know? Earn some money?" His lips twitched upwards slightly as he added onto it. "Plus, I need _some_ way to keep an eye on my humans, ne?" He looked at Ninka out of the corner of his eyes, but they kept darting off somewhere else into the crowd every now and then.

Ninka's eyes instantly narrowed at this comment and something along the lines of anger and annoyance bubbled up in her stomach.

_"Not again..."_

"You're not spying on another one of those suicidal girls right now, are you?"

Izaya stuck his hands into the pockets of his rather furry and warm-looking jacket and closed his eyes for a moment, grinning at her. "And what if I am, Ninka-Chan?" The use of her actual name set Ninka off slightly, but she wasn't about to back down. "Jealous that it's not you I initially here came to see?" His eyes opened again to look at her face. The girl's hands were now on her hips and a frown was embedded on her lips.

"Well, of course I am! We all are!" She told him in an agitated tone, pointing at herself. "We hate it when you pay more attention to those other girls that don't even want to keep living than you do to me!"

_"You don't really need them, do you, Izaya?"_

_"Yes, pay more attention to Ninka, Izaya!"_

Izaya laughed loudly at this. "But I'm not even sure if this one's suicidal yet!"

In a flash, a hand gun was slung out of the girl's small purse and she was glaring at him. "Well, if she doesn't _want_ to die, then I could always _make_ it happen." Her words were deathly serious and practically dripping with venom. "Just tell me which one it is."

_"Yes, kill her..." _Another voice spoke to her in a hushed tone._ "Kill her... Kill her... Kill her..."_

Red eyes rolled and Izaya sighed. "Oh, Annie-Chan," he groaned, making her feel slightly better with the use of his nickname for her, "you're just as hasty and possessive as ever. Did it ever occur to you that I might want a few different tools than you at my disposal? And so many interesting things could happen with this one! Plus," his eyes rolled back over to Ninka, "there's a big enough chance that someone else might end up killing her at some point, anyways."

Ninka didn't even bother to object to the "tool" comment, mainly because she found it to be true; for as long as she could remember, she was nothing but another tool ready at his hands. Weapon, shield, toy, you name it; she was there for whatever purposes he needed. So instead, she decided to think carefully about what he had said. _Well, if there was a chance she might die, then maybe she could let this girl off the hook…_

"Besides, Ninka-Chan, you know that you're the only one stupid enough to fall in love with someone like me."

…

"Fair enough point," the gun was back in the pocket of Ninka's hoodie in less than a second. "It was a bluff, anyway," she shrugged. "Mama confiscated all of my bullets last night." She grinned at him; now looking like the bubbly, hyperactive person she was only a few minutes ago. "Well, we better leave you to your stalking, then, Iza-Kun! See you tomorrow?"

Izaya grinned at the strange girl. "Yep, see you tomorrow, Annie-Chan!"

_"Good-bye, Izaya..."_

He watched amusedly as she began to skip back off to her usually spot where she would pester anyone that would pass by with her antics, before she paused after a moment. She turned back to him and calls out over her soulder. "Oh, and Iza-Kun, Mana-Chan says 'Bye!'"

"Well, then," Izaya called back to the young girl, "tell Mana-Chan that I say 'bye,' too!"

She nodded, turning back again and her long black hair bobbed slightly as she started to skip along the streets once more. After a few moments, she disappeared into the crowd.

Smirking, Izaya looked back in the other direction. The head of wavy hair he had been following earlier made the usual right turn into the usual alleyway. Only a little ways off behind the girl, an auburn haired boy followed.

Izaya's smirk only widened.

"Well, Hasegawa Yuzuki, let's see how your life turns out today."

* * *

><p>"I hate you so much."<p>

Blank brown eyes stared at the black pavement with little to no movement. Sitting there. Watching.

The rain was pouring down in the busy streets of Ikebukuro, and most people had were taking cover either under the protection of buildings or their umbrellas, shuffling around the streets to get to work or home, possibly to a date they had set up with a special someone, or maybe just an outing with friends. People had places to go, people to meet, and that's the reason they were out there, right? People needed to company of others. People needed someone else in their life to share secrets with, or talk with every once in a while, because this was in human nature. Most humans needed others to survive.

But not Hasegawa Yuzuki.

She didn't feel the need for company like so many others did, didn't crave for attention, much unlike her little sister, whom loved to go for as many challenges as possible, didn't want to go out to see the world as her younger brother did. She just wanted to sit. Listen to music. Calm her nerves. That's all she wanted out of life: just music. Plain and simple.

She'd sit out in the pouring rain all by herself to drown out all other distractions if she had to, as she is now. And, at times, she sits out there for hours and hours on end, up until the Ikebukuro streets calm to indicate the night hours. A big alarm clock. That's mostly what she saw the city as.

Just one big alarm clock.

And a dump. That, too.

Often, she'd wonder to herself why she stayed in the city, since she hated it so much, hated all the garbage those idiots throw around the streets like they had the right to do so, hated the _people_ that threw the garbage, hated even the people that _didn't_ litter. It didn't matter who they were: humans were idiots. Humans were corrupt. She hated humans. And so humans learned to hate her back

Everyone is after _something_, she had convinced herself, and they just don't know when to stop going after it.

But she's not human, Yuzuki kept telling herself. She had revolutionized past the form of human long ago. She wasn't greedy or a back-stabbing liar like she convinced herself that everyone else was. No, she wasn't human.

But, then, what was she?

"Why won't you directly talk to anybody? It's annoying as hell."

_Sticks and stones_, she thought. _Sticks and stones_…

"No answer?" The boy standing in front of her sneered, as if the mere sight of her disgusted him to no end. "You _really_ piss me off, Hasegawa. You know that?"

Yuzuki had many people that followed her to her spot behind an old garbage can out in an alleyway after school, lots of people keen on attacking her, sometimes verbally, sometimes physically. This boy was a frequent visitor, and every time he started yelling at her, it would be one-sided, for she would only sit there, headphones stuck in her ears and staring at the concrete just behind his leg as if she might die if she didn't. In her mind she would be repeating one line over and over again over the blaring music, and sometimes utter it out loud, barely a whisper, when things got bad enough.

"You're just plain pathetic." The boy crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes, nose scrunched up in distaste. He couldn't bear to look at her anymore. "I don't even know why you bother at this point. Let's face it, you have no friends, your grades are the worst in class, and I'll bet that even your family hates you by now."

"Sticks and stones… Sticks and stones… Sticks and stones…"

"Yes, yes," the boy grimaced and his shoulders slumped slightly. "I get it, Hasegawa; everyone gets it! You and your damn sticks and stones!" He shouted the last part at her. "What the hell is wrong with you?" It wasn't a question, but a demanding statement, one that was accompanied by a raised fist that soon found itself being thrown in her direction.

He had snapped again.

* * *

><p>She had dozed off.<p>

And when Yuzuki awoke, it had to be around ten O'clock at night, judging on the slowly dying night life and the streets, which were now brightly lit by lamps and neon signs. From what she could see and hear, it was still raining, and the water level had risen ever so slightly, as the alley she resided in was at the bottom of a hill.

"Ah," she clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, blinking slowly. "The siblings will be worried." Her mind was slowly processing things as she stood up from the ground, wiping at a banana peel that had somehow managed to find its way on her skirt, and grabbed her backpack and walked steadily out of the alley, headphones still over her ears, with a slight drunken-like swing to her pace since her beating from a few hours ago still had her feeling off.

The walk back to her house would take only half an hour, so she'd be tired and soaked by the time she got home, but the thought of some adequate rest sounded nice enough to her. Hopefully Fumio wouldn't be too angry for coming home so late so that she could get to sleep more quickly. Things would be routine, Yuzuki told herself. Nothing would change. She would still come home late. She would still only eat a small, quick dinner. She would still have to cover up her bruises. She would have to leave the apartment for the torture called school in the morning, had it not been a Friday. But since it _was_ a Friday, she'd get to sleep in and then get ready for the other tortures that her family decided to put her through called group therapy. It would all be the exact same.

But, once she made a turn to leave the alley, she was greeted by a new sight not even a foot away from her face.

It was a familiar person, but not one the people that usually came over to make her life a personal hell through abuse and not-so-friendly words. But this person was familiar, that was for sure. The fur-trimmed coat, tousled black hair, and crimson eyes easily identified him as the idiot that frequently got into fights with a blonde brute that had monstrous strength. Not that she knew what his name was- she never took the time to learn, unlike about ninety-nine percent of the rest of the inhabitants of this city.

His face was curled up into a devious smile etched on his face. "Hello, there."

She stared at him for a moment, just blinking at his face, before quickly turning on her heel and walking in the opposite direction, ignoring the boy. She didn't care if she had to take the long way back home and ended up taking a full hour; she had a feeling that this boy was more trouble than he was worth.

"Hey~!" The boy was whining now and soon she heard footsteps coming up from behind her. Soon enough, she found him in front of her, walking backwards so that she could continue on her path but so that he could still face her while speaking. "You know, it's very rude to ignore someone when they're speaking to you, Yuzu-Chan."

She stopped walking and simply stared at him blankly, two things on her mind.

One: How did he know her name?

Two: Why did he call her by the nickname that only the siblings and parents ever bothered to give her?

Her silence must have prompted him to speak some more, because that's what he did, although it had absolutely no relevance to what she had been wanting him to say in the first place. "It's not very safe for a young lady to walk out on the streets at this time of night, especially since you already look so beat up, Yuzu-Chan," again with that nickname. Yuzuki found that she was ever so slightly annoyed but tried her best to ignore it. "I just hope that you're grateful enough that I dropped by and thought that I might want to escort you home." He then suddenly looked around, as if just realizing the where they were. "Which, by the way," he drawled out in an amused voice, "you seem to have forgotten the location of." He gave the girl a cheeky smile before grabbing her arm and pulling her in the opposite direction. "Your house is this way, Yuzu-Chan! How silly of you!"

She tore her arm from his grip and let a few words slip from her mouth, finally having it with this boy who seemed to know way too much of her personal information for her comfort. "You a stalker?"

Not that she would have cared if she had a stalker in the least if she actually lived alone. She may have hated humans, but out of all humans, her siblings were the only ones she was fond of, probably because she was raised with them and their care. And, so, if she had a stalker, that technically meant that he knew where her siblings lived, putting them in danger as well. And she wouldn't tolerate that.

"And so she speaks!" The black haired boy announced, clapping his hands together as if this was the most interesting part of his day so far. "You know, _Hasegawa Yuzuki_," he said her real name with a hint of scorn to it that would make any normal person cringe, "you have quite the reputation for silence back at school; in fact, lots of your peers have quite some crazy theories about you and your almost-muteness, actually. Usually you'll just ignore people, even when provoked, and just listen to your music. Honestly, it's a bit of a let-down that you actually _spoke_ to me, Yuzu-Chan."

She didn't bother to acknowledge the fact that he'd actually did his fair share of digging around for her reputation at school. Nor did she bother to even think about how she'd only spoken about three words to him in total. It wasn't worth it. So instead, she stared at him blankly, the picture of indifference and apathy that she often wore. She wouldn't acknowledge him unless he answered her. All that she could do while waiting for him to respond properly was listen to the music playing through her mind.

"Now what's that look for, Yuzu-Chan?" The boy pouted, as if upset by her response, or lack thereof, to his information, but soon recovered from it. "Oh, yes! Your question!" He smirked at her and bowed, his head going down lower than necessary, with a large grin on his face. "My name is Orihara Izaya, but you can simply call me Iza-Kun if you want." _As if_, she thought to herself blearily, and then moved on to the thought of what a strange name he had. _Orihara Izaya_. It seemed to suit him rather well, actually; it was just as strange as he was. "And as for why I know where you live, I like to keep tabs on most of the people in Ikebukuro, which, yes, includes even the quiet and elusive ones such as yourself. So you can decide for yourself whether you would count that as stalking or not." _Yes, it does_. But her thought were interrupted when he waggled a finger in front of her face with a teasing smirk tugging on his lips. "And, I happen to know much more than just your name and where you live."

_Oh dear Kami-Sama, help us all_.

She'd had enough of this boy. Still holding a face as void of emotion that she could handle without showing her pure disgust towards Orihara, she pushed him out of her way and went along the sidewalk, deciding to go the quickest way home. He couldn't break into her house without permission or someone, be it her or her older brother, _would_ call the cops for breaking and entering. And, who knows, she wouldn't put it past herself to charge him for stalking as well.

"Ah, Yuzu-Chan!" Orihara whined as he jogged a bit to catch up to her. "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings! All I wanted to do was walk you home because there are so many bad people out on the streets at this time of night." The great insincerity of his words already had Yuzuki thinking the three words she normally only spoke to calm herself.

_Sticks and stones… Sticks and stones…_

"And I wanted to ask you a few questions as well," Orihara continued, walking along with her when she didn't reply to him. She didn't acknowledge him, which amused the teenager.

She was different, with her continuously ignoring him to the best of her abilities and using as little words as possible. In all truthfulness, she was the very opposite of one his former favorites, Ninka Yezhov, whom he very quickly found thrived off of the affection and attention of others, himself specifically for odd reasons. And yet, he thought, they were possibly similar in a one way, although he couldn't say for sure whether they had this fact in common.

The smile that was on his lips curled even father and, taking her silence as a yes, he continued on. "Well, first of all, Yuzu-Chan, why are you so shy?"

_Shy_? Not exactly the best adjective that could be used to describe her. _More like anti-social. _Or withdrawn. Then again, he could also use the words quiet, or reserved to describe her, as well. She could only guess that his word choice was meant to make her more on edge around him.

"I mean, you _must_ have friends of some sort, right?"

**Poke…**

She tried to ignore him to the best of her abilities, but his voice still wormed its way into her head for some reason. _Why _did_ she have no friends_? Was it really because everyone else was human, as she thought, or something else?

_Sticks and stones…_

"Here's another one," another spine-chilling smirk was sent her way. "I mean no disrespect or anything, but why won't you speak, either? You do have a head to speak with, right? So why not use it?"

**Poke…**

Yuzuki honestly didn't know why he was asking questions as stupid as these. Did she need a reason to be quiet? Couldn't he just take it that she wouldn't talk to him and leave it at that?

_Sticks and stones…_

His lips only curled up even farther at her silence, as if this was amusing to him. He faked a sigh and went on speaking. "I know that no matter what, you're probably not going to answer me… but I think it'd be fair to warn you: I've been watching you for a few days now, Yuzu-Chan," he said, sighing and craning his neck back to look at the cloudy city sky, not bothering to look at her face. He knew that she had the same, apathetic look etched across her features. "And I'm rather shocked that you always go back there. Don't you ever think that maybe you should just go home, rather than stay out in the open for those bullies to catch you?"

**Poke…**

It was so strange. Other people never made her think like she was at that moment. Normally, the others were so easy to ignore so that she could just get on with her life, but Orihara's words churned over and over again inside her head. It was as if this boy knew how stir the thoughts within her head, exactly how to get the gears going. This thought was unsettling.

_Sticks and stones…_

Her silence only excited Orihara even more, for he then walked ahead and stood in front of her, causing her to bump into him, her forehead bumping into his. Startled at the close proximity, she backed up and looked at him with a startled expression she hadn't worn in a long time. The boy's grin widened more. She hadn't even thought that was possible, given how wide his smile already was. "And, more importantly, why do you _let_ them beat you up?"

**Poke…**

"Sticks and stones… Sticks and stones… Sticks and stones…"

"Hm?" Izaya tilted his head with a quizzical, yet still amused look on his face, and turned his ear in Yuzuki's direction. She still had her earphones on, but her eyes were now wide and she was staring at the ground beneath her feet, the rain now sliding off of her short waves of black hair. Face covered in black bruises. Hands balled into fists. Legs quivering.

She looked rather pathetic, really.

He almost laughed as he finished his next sentence. "What did you say, Yuzu-Chan? You're speaking so quietly I can hardly hear you!"

**Poke…**

_Humans, _he thought,_ they're so much fun!_

"Sticks and stones… Sticks and stones… Sticks and stones…"

She said the words with an odd rhythm to them, almost as if they made up some sort of chant, but then he noticed that the pitch in her voice changed just barely as she kept repeating these words.

It was almost as if she was reciting a poem or something.

He leaned forward and his eyes narrowed slightly, but his wide grin stayed in place. "Oh?" He asked. "Sticks and stones, you say? What about them?"

**Poke…**

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but your words will never hurt me."

And Izaya actually _did_ laugh at this. His loud, boisterous voice earned a few glares from the pedestrians surrounding him, but he ignored them, instead settling to revel in the moment, in the ignorance of this young girl and the irony that this quote carried with it.

_Oh, how amusing it is!_

Yuzuki's head had snapped up, surprised and, honestly, a little startled by his sudden outburst. She watched him with wide eyes as he shook, obviously trying to stop laughing but unable to. His reaction to her favorite quote was beyond confusing to her.

"I'm so sorry, Yuzu-Chan," Izaya bellowed out between his laughs, holding his stomach with one hand and covering his mouth with the other. "It's just… so funny!"

She tilted her head to the side, same apathetic yet hostile look on her face. The question she wanted to ask was clear on her face.

_What's so funny?_

"And now you want clarification, am I right?" Izaya finally stopped laughing and straightened up, although he looked like he could burst out into a fit of giggles again any moment. This slightly annoyed Yuzuki, whom didn't even want to be around this boy in the first place since he seemed like the most twisted human she had met yet. She didn't want this sick human sin to spread, leak on to her like a contagious disease. She just wanted to get away from this boy as soon as she could.

But Izaya _wanted_ to be around her for the very same reason, even if it may have been in a different sense. She was by far the most twisted human he'd met yet, and he wanted to see just how much more he could twist her before she broke in half. He'd already done his fair share of research, knew the most prominent causes of what made her the person she was, and yet there was so much more to learn before he could do anything too drastic.

He still had some more poking a prodding to do, but for the most part, he was done for today. He had found out more about Yuzuki and gotten more information about her than he had initially expected, but it wasn't like he was complaining or anything.

She was so easy to read, he told himself, and yet there were still so many little puzzle pieces missing. Why didn't she just kill herself, if she hated this place so much? And why did she go to that same spot every day, and why did she never fight back, just sit there and let herself be pummeled to the point where she could barely walk even after a few hours or rest? There were so many thoughts, so many questions running through his head at the moment that the prospect of solving this mystery excited Izaya to no end.

But he did learn one thing, and that was that words hurt her a lot more than she'd like to admit. Thoughts and emotions were her one major weakness and that was why she tried to block them out with her music and ear phones. And he now knew that she never spoke to anyone because she thought it would make her invisible, make it so that no one would bother her.

A smirk spread over his face and he was very tempted to laugh again, but bit it back to the best of his abilities. "I don't think I'm going to tell you what's so funny just yet." She glared at him and pushed past the smiling crimson-eyed boy, looking like a mix between a hateful cat and a lost puppy. Izaya shrugged his shoulders, but followed after her nonetheless, beginning to speak aimlessly with her once more, but she only stared at the road in front of her carefully, trying to ignore him.

Hasegawa Yuzuki really didn't want to let humans and their harsh words into her life.

And letting Orihara Izaya know this would be her biggest downfall.

* * *

><p>The door creaked noisily behind Yuzuki as she stepped from the outside world into the family's apartment. Her hair and clothes were dripping wet and from outside, Orihara, also completely soaked, was waving good-bye. She quickly slammed the door in his face and hoped he would go away.<p>

"Who was that you were with?"

She wasn't too surprised to see her older sibling, Fumio, sitting on the sofa with one leg crossed over the other and a newspaper in hand. On the stand next to him was a lamp, lighting the room he resided in just barely enough for her to see the look of worry and frustration etched across his face.

She looked towards the floor and slipped off her shoes, placing them neatly by the door. She shrugged her shoulders, as if to say, 'I don't know.'

It didn't really look to her as if Fumio bought it, since his dark brown eyes narrowed. "It wasn't a boyfriend, was it?" The tone in his voice was that of suspicion, as if he actually believed that she was the type of person to go snooping around with a boy at night.

"Since when did I ever have any regular friends?" She asked smoothly, now loosening the tight bow that came around the neck of her uniform.

As far as the family knew, she didn't have any friends or people that she talked with after school. All they knew was that she went out after school and didn't come back until late at night. For all they knew, she could be out at the library studying the whole time or vandalizing city property. But the one thing they could be sure of was that she didn't hang out with any other kids her age because she never talked about other people.

Fumio sighed and a look of sympathy spread across his face while he changed the subject. "You look pretty beat up again. Anything you want to talk about?"

She frequently came home with bruises, but Fumio was the only one to stay up long enough to see, or know about, them before she got a hold of mother's makeup and covered them.

She shook her head. The answer was simple, plain. She didn't want to talk about it.

"Are you sure?"

Yuzuki ignored him and quickly threw her backpack down on the floor and made her way to the bathroom, grabbing an apple that was lying out on the counter on her way.

She was just able to catch his voice before she slammed the bathroom door behind her. "Just remember that tomorrow's Saturday- you've got to get up at ten to get ready for your appointment." Then she was alone in the bathroom.

It was a routine thing, honestly. She'd come home late at night and after a small exchange of words he'd ask her if there was anything she wanted to talk about, then she'd deny it, grab something to eat, and go to take a shower and put some cover-up on before going to bed.

She didn't want to speak with her siblings or parents about her horrible social life. The way she saw it, it was her burden, not theirs.

So after consuming her dinner of a single apple, getting rid of most of the filthy rain water that covered her body by taking a shower, and covering up her bruises, she went into the room that she and the siblings shared. Fumio had gone to bed by now, curled up in the same bed as Kazuki like he usually was by the time she finally finished getting ready for bed. Hana was lying down by herself, gripping the covers to her bed tightly.

When Yuzuki lay down on the bed with Hana, the little girl stirred slightly in her sleep, her closed eyes tightening and loosening periodically and tossing and turning, before, finally, she faced towards her older sister and opened her chocolate colored eyes. A small smiled spread on her face. "Neesan," she said sleepily, her small fingers loosening their grip on the covers. She was glad her big sister finally came and that she wasn't alone any more. "You're home."

Yuzuki nodded, eyes trained on the ceiling.

A little yawn left Hana's mouth, but the smile stayed on her face. "I'm glad. I feel lonely when you're not here, Neesan."

Yuzuki's eyes left the ceiling for a moment to look down at her youngest sibling. The little girl's eyes were only half-lidded and there were small little rings forming under her eyes. She had obviously tried staying awake so that she could wait for her; she always did that and because of it, she was always out of energy in the morning. "Sleep."

Hana's eyes closed and her head just barely nodded up and down at her sister's soft command. "'K."

Yuzuki smiled faintly and ruffled the younger girl's hair softly.

"Night, Yuzu-Neesan. I love you."

Going to bed always _was_ the best part of Yuzuki's day just because she got to hear her sister say those three words. She never got to hear them from her parents since they were busy most of the day and never got to see them and since she didn't have any friends for over two years, she hadn't heard any words that were even remotely similar to those from them. It was nice to know that someone appreciated her life every now and then. It made her life worth while

"Love you, too."

Back then, Hana really was the only thing that kept her going.

* * *

><p>Mr. and Mrs. Yezhov were anxious, to say the least. It had only been about a year and a half since their small family of three had moved to Japan, thinking that they could finally start over, and possibly get their daughter to pull her act together. But there was something wrong with their child; they had figured that out a long time ago, but never did they think that their child could be a possible killer until Selena, the Mrs., found a gun lying around Ninka's room the night before.<p>

Of course, she had confiscated the bullets and hidden them away in a safe place from her daughter as soon as possible, but she didn't have the courage to take the actual gun away from her, and neither had her husband, Sergei.

As ashamed as they were to admit it, they were a little afraid of their own child.

Ever since she was a tiny girl, they knew there was something off about Ninka. In her first few years of school, she kept laughing in the middle of class for no apparent reason and yelling out strange things that made no sense. And then she started talking to people that nnobody else could even see. They'd tried putting her in the special Ed class at first, but then it became apparent that she was perfectly smart, possibly brilliant, even. The problem was just her eccentric personality. Things got so bad that they eventually had to pull her out of public school during the second grade and teacher her at home because she was becoming too much of a distraction to classes, but it wasn't like it fixed things.

She kept laughing to herself at seemingly nothing and talking about these people that never even existed; it was starting to really freak Selena out. Sergei was concerned about it, as well, which is what led them to their current hushed conversation in their living room.

"It's obvious that the only solution is a mental institution," Sergei insisted to his wife. "We've already tried counseling, but I think we both know that it's not doing anything, Selena." He held onto her hand with a tight grip.

In the meanwhile, Selena looked as if little tears were about to burst out from her eyes at any minute now and she kept looking frantically to the front door, expecting their daughter to be coming in at any time now. "Surely, there must be something else we can do for her, dear." She told him in a hushed tone. "Maybe we could switch her to a new therapist for a while and see how she does, just for a little while! I don't want our only child to be taken away to a mental hospital when she's only sixteen!"

There was a desperate tone to her voice, one that really made Sergei want to listen to her, to actually comply with her request, no matter how unreasonable it may have been. He sighed. "OK, look," he nervously scratched the back of his head with the hand that wasn't clutched by his wife's," I've heard about this therapist that specializes in group therapy for kids like Ninka." At this, Selena's eyes gave a slight glimmer of hope that just made Sergei go on. "I'll see if I can get an appointment in for tomorrow, but we're only going to try this for ten weeks, OK? If she's still…" he trailed off in midsentence, not sure if he was able to use the word 'insane' to describe his daughter quite yet, "… You know, after that long, we're going to put her in a mental hospital. It _is_ for her own good, Selena."

The yellow eyed Russian woman took a deep, shaky breath and slowly nodded her head, looking a bit hesitant. "OK, then. I guess it is for her own good…"

"So it's decided then," Sergei sighed, looking somehow relieved yet upset at the same time. He was relieved that they had finally decided on a course of action concerning their daughter, but it also set him a little on edge, knowing that in ten weeks, Ninka could be sent to an asylum…

_It's for her own good…_

"Oh, by the way, you _did_ hide those bullets, didn't you?" When his wife bobbed her head up and down, he sighed in relief. "That's good, so where are they, then?"

Selena smiled slightly. "The one place we both know she'd never look in her entire life."

Sergei raised an eyebrow in thought for a moment, contemplating on this. _The one place she'll never look?_

A smile crept up on his lips.

"Vegetable cabinet?"

"Precisely."

A small moment of laughter was shared before the sound of the door clicking open alerted the two parents that their daughter had finally returned home.

"Oh, Mama~, Papa~"

Eyes widening, Selena and Sergei quickly straightened themselves up just as Ninka literally skipped into the living room, wearing her usually eccentric dress.

Their daughter, for whatever reason, liked to dress up like some princess out of a space, sci-fi movie or something. The dress had several layers to the skirt part, the first cutting off just above her knee while the others then went further down. The sleeves were... well, there were no sleeves, just a part of the dress that went up and swallowed her throat like a turtleneck and some long glove-like things that she had to manually slip onto her arms to make them look as if it really did have sleeves. Honestly, she had about ten different pairs of the same outfit, but all in different colors, but the one she wore today was a mixture of black and different shades of grays.

And, of course, there were also the mismatched toe-socks that she wore with her sandals. There was _always_ that…

"I'm home!" This was followed up with a huge grin and little tiny giggles that sent chills down her parents' spines.

"Oh, Ninka, Dear!" Selena was the first to speak, thinking back to her days in drama class at high school. She forced a bright smile on her face and clapped her hands together, but then quickly pushed up the glasses that were falling down the bridge of her nose. "It's so great to see you home!"

"Yes, yes," Sergei's hand gripped tightly onto his wife's, a nervous tick of his that he did frequently whenever Ninka was near. "How was your day, Sweetie?"

"Oh, it was wonderful!" Ninka started spinning around in circles, laughing joyfully while she made her way over to the kitchen. Once she reached the refrigerator, she stopped spinning, although little giggles kept escaping her mouth. This set her parents on the edge of their seat, clutching each other and shaking uncontrollably. The teenager reached her hand into the fridge and pulled out a pudding cup, then proceeded to grab a plastic spoon from the cabinet.

"It was wonderful," she repeated, gleefully taking a bite out of the pudding. "I got to see so many things while out on the streets! And so many people were looking at me! It was just wondrous!"

They took this as a good sign, very good, and actually found themselves relaxing a bit. She didn't always come home in a mood as good as this one; often, yes, but not always, and they had learned long ago not to take these kinds of things for granted when she came home, screaming, in a fit of rage one day and nearly destroyed their apartment with her bare hands. They were just thankful that they hadn't gotten kicked out because the complaints from their neighbors that night were so numerous that Selena nearly had a heart-attack when the old woman from next-door came by the next morning to bite her head off, along with her son, who just so happened to be a cop.

A light, warm smile found itself on Sergei's face. "Well, that great, hon-" He was suddenly cut off when the pudding cup in Ninka's hand was crushed, sending the sweet brown substance all over the kitchen floor and said teenager's hand.

The two gawked as Ninka suddenly looked around the kitchen as if she wanted to murder someone.

Selena took a large gulp of air as she suddenly ran over to the closet and grabbed a mop and came back to clean up the mess. "Ninka, what was that all about?" She tried to add a chiding tone into her voice as she disdainfully mopped up the brown gunk from the floor, but it came out sounding more nervous than anything.

"I just remembered that my day wasn't all that good," Ninka threw away the pudding cup as she said this and licked the remaining pudding off of her hand before any more of it could drop to the floor. Both of her parents watched this with a mixture of weariness and slight disgust at her lack of decency to get a paper towel and clean up with that rather than her own tongue. However, the yellow eyed girl paid no attention to this and, instead, her face twisted into a sneer. "Iza-Kun has another new favorite," she groaned, dropping herself dramatically into her chair.

Selena and Sergei exchanged a look.

Izaya. Yet another issue they had yet to address about their child. For about a year now, Ninka has been obsessed with his boy, Orihara Izaya. She always went out to have 'play dates' with him, as she called them, talked about how hansom and smart and funny he was nonstop at dinner, and took pictures at random photo booths around town with him so that she could show her parents what he looked like and how much fun they had. And, at first, they were excited that Ninka had made her first friend that was actually _real_ since moving from Russia, so much that they even invited him to dinner to show their thankfulness and hospitality.

Only, when they had actually met Izaya, they later wished that they never had.

The boy terrified them from them moment he first addressed them. _"Why, hello there, Mr. and Mrs. Yezhov!" He had exclaimed as he bowed to them, a wide smirk on his face and a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "It's a pleasure to meet my dear Annie-Chan's parents!"_ They could even remember how they had wanted to puke at the sarcastic, insincerity of his words and at how his smirk that they had learned to hate so much over time seemed to widen even more every time their daughter hugged him or clung onto his arm like a baby monkey to its mother.

Needless to say, they didn't approve of Ninka hanging around this boy, believing that he was a horrible influence on her, and this theory was only supported when they later found out that he had not only already graduated high school, but messes with people like they were his own personal playthings. And it was only a matter of time before the boy found someone he deemed more interesting than Ninka and tossed her aside. But there was nothing they could do about it at that point because Ninka had claimed to have "fallen in love" with Izaya and when Ninka wants something, her parents have always lacked the ability to stand in her way. But, thankfully, nobody had stayed as Izaya's favorite plaything long enough for Ninka to find out who it was and strangle them to death.

Sergei was about to say something that he thought would be comforting to his daughter, but abruptly shut his mouth when the teenage girl's hate-filled gaze fell on Selena.

"Feodora told me that my day might not have stunk so much if you hadn't confiscated my bullets, Mama. And _I_, for one, agree with her."

The sound of the chair scraping against the wooden floor made its way to her parents' ears and they watched with wide, horrified eyes as she stomped over to her room and slammed the door shut.

Wide brown eyes met with bright yellow for a brief moment, but they kept flickering over to the now closed door that led to their daughter's room, where what sounded like a rather loud mixture between hysterical laughter and uncontrollable sobbing could be heard from.

Neither of the two parents said any words, but there was an unspoken message lingering in Selena's eyes, a plea for help, that Sergei could easily read.

She couldn't lose this one to a mental illness and violent tendencies. She just couldn't. The pain of losing their first child was hard enough for them, but it would just _kill_ her if Ninka, no matter how mentally unstable and absolutely terrifying she may have been, had to be taken away from her at such a young age. It would too heartbreakingly painful for her to take.

And so he sent his own silent message back to his wife, one that she was all too grateful to receive.

_Don't worry, Selena, _Sergei told her_, we're going to save our daughter_, _and by any means necessary._

**Noel Note:**

**1*: OK, so Ninka is basically the diminutive Russian form of Anne or Antonia (or at least, that's what my source says), so that's why Izaya's nick-name for her is Annie-Chan. I just couldn't see him going without calling her by a nickname and Nin-Chan didn't really sound all too great in my opinion. So… yeah, that's where that rather random nickname came from.**

_"Just a quick note, anything in quotation marks and italics are usually Ninka's voices, which you will learn more about the next chapter."_

**And so there it is! I really hope this wasn't too stupid. I haven't really done angst or 3****rd**** Person Omniscient (if you even consider this to be omniscient) before, so I can't really say I'd be surprised if it stank. Plus, Izaya is just one tough cookie to write! **

**This is _not_ my best piece of work, but (I'm sad to say) it's not my worst, either. If you guys like it enough, I'll continue as it is, but I'll probably end up re-doing this chapter. I'm just much too fond of this story to scrap it.**

**Warning me about if I'm creating a Mary-Sue or two or if I'm making any of the characters OOC would be much appreciated. Just drop a review and tell me how I did. Constructive criticism, flames, an "OMG! Dis iz awezome!", or a twelve page rant about what made this good/bad would be **_**amazing**_**.**

**Oh, and also, there **_**is**_** going to be a love triangle between my two OC's, Ninka and Yuzuki, and Izaya, so if you could tell me which one of them you like better, that'd be awesome. I mean, I know how this is going to end and all, but I'm just lacking a few small details.**

**So, yeah…**

**Thanks for reading and please be sure to review!**

**~Noel-Chan**


	2. Headache

**Editing Finished: 4/17/12**

**Hello and welcome back! Thanks for the favorites and review! In this chapter, we get a look at group therapy for Yuzu-Chan and Annie-Chan!**

**Oh, and for those reading Insanity, I'll try to come out with the next chapter as soon as I can (although this will probably take a while). This is mainly because of minor writer's block and figuring out how to portray Shizuo.**

**Also, I apologize for what this chapter looked like before I edited. That is something that I hope that I will never have the indecency to put up here again. Once again, I am SO sorry about that.**

**Sticks and Stones**

**By: Noel14**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Durarara (sadly), only the Hasegawa family and the Yezhov family, as well as the other therapy families.**

**Chapter 2: Headache**

* * *

><p><strong>~Kanra: So, have you guys heard about that new gang starting up in Ikebukuro?<strong>

**~Taro Tanaka: Huh?**

**~Taro Tanaka: **_**Another**_** new gang?**

**~Kanra: Yeah!**

**~Kanra: I think that they wear purple.**

**~Setton: Oh, I think I know who you're talking about.**

**~Setton: You mean The Whisperers, right?**

**~Taro Tanaka: The Whisperers?**

**~Kanra: Yes, yes, that's it~!**

**~Kanra: I heard that they're leader just got out of jail.**

**~Setton: Yeah, I've heard that, too. Sounds kind of scary.**

**~Kanra: I also hear that he lost an eye and one of his hands during the fight he went to jail for a****nd that now he's gathering numbers to get revenge...**

**~Kanra: Oh, and they say that just one look at his missing eye can kill someone, too.**

**~Setton: You really shouldn't believe everything you hear, Kanra.**

**~Kanra: Oh, shush, Setton. Of course its true; rumors have to start from _somwhere_, don't they?**

**~Taro Tanaka: You don't really believe that, do you?**

**~Kanra: Oh, but of course I do~**

**~Kanra: Why? Could it be that these rumors scare you, Taro?**

**~Taro Tanaka: No they don't!**

**~Taro Tanaka: It's just that I don't really think that's even possible.**

**~Kanra: But you don't even live in Ikebukuro, Taro, so how can you say that?**

**~Kanra: Stranger things have happened here before, you know~**

**~Setton: Yeah, kind of like that urban legend.**

**~Taro Tanaka: Urban legend?**

**~Kanra: Oh, so you haven't heard?**

**...**

* * *

><p>"Give it back…"<p>

"But Yuzu-Neesan, you need to listen to what Chikafuji-San says when he and the others get here!"

"Give it back…"

"Yuzu-Chan, listen to yourself! You sound crazy! Come on, you can go an hour or so without it, can't you?"

"I said 'Give it back'…"

Fumio sighed to himself as his three younger siblings went through their usual Saturday morning exchange. Yuzuki was currently sitting in a green plastic chair, having pulled her legs up to her chest, and was rocking back and forth as a movement that she probably found soothing. They had taken her headphones and iPod away from her when they entered the room that her therapist usually used for her and her group of 'friends,' as Chikafuji-San liked to call them.

"Look, Yuzuki, I don't care if you don't like it, but this state of yours has been getting way out of control lately." She wouldn't even look at him. All that Yuzuki would do it stare at the headphones that their younger brother, Kazuki, was holding in his hands. "And this music of yours is the biggest distraction there is when you're over here. We just want to help you."

"Give it back…" Her quiet whispers sounded almost empty and pitiful and, as Fumio sometimes does, he contemplated on giving it up and telling his brother to just hand over the headphones. She just sounded so… so…

Pathetic.

She sounded like a drug addict that just had their latest supply of meth taken away from her and was trying her best to sound calm in order to get it back, which didn't work. She was panicking, and that was what got him so close to giving up and just handing over her precious music.

_Just hold on…_

The door opened and in entered Ito Ryuu, another one of the few other patients that underwent this same group therapy session, with his family in tow. He was weeping, as he often was, and in his mother's arms was a sobbing baby boy. Dark purple circles were under the woman's eyes.

"Ohayō, Hasegawa-San," Ms. Ito greeted the oldest of the Hasegawa siblings with a tired smile as Ryuu plopped down in his chair, trying to wipe tears from his eyes.

"Ah, Ito-San," Fumio returned the warm greeting with his own smile. "Ohayō! It's nice to see you again. How are you?"

"Oh, we're well," she replied formally, seating herself in another chair that was usually meant for another one of the patients. "How are you?"

"We're fine as well, but you might want to switch to the other chair," Kazuki interjected the conversation to advised the woman hastily. "That one's Ishikawa-San's and he might snap again if he comes in while you're sitting there."

A frightened look passed over Mrs. Ito's face and she quickly stood up again. The sudden movement startled the baby that she was still holding and it began to cry again. She flinched and started to rock her arms back and forth urgently. "It's OK, Arata-Kun," she insisted with a pleading tone in her voice.

Fumio's eyes softened as he looked at the young widow. She was barely even in her thirties and she already had an over-emotional fifteen-year-old son, a husband that died in war, and a baby boy. He felt pity for the woman, especially when she kept looking between her two needy sons to see who it was that needed her help the most. "Hey, Ito-San, if you can't wait for Chikafuji-San to come, then we can watch Ryuu for you. It would be no problem."

Mrs. Ito's smile made his heart warm just a little bit. "Oh, yes, arigato, Hasegawa-San!" She bowed to him and hurried out the door quickly, just as four new people entered the room.

Abe Kin, with an almost blank look on his face that rivaled Yuzuki's, sat down in his usual spot while his mother stood in the doorway, a sour look on her own. Right behind Abe came Ishikawa Masaki, surrounded by his usual enraged aura. As soon as he sat down, his father left without any greetings or asking if anyone would watch the fourteen-year-old for him.

"Give it back, Kazuki," Fumio turned his attention back to his siblings. Yuzuki was now looking at her younger brother directly in the eyes with an even more pitiful look on her face than before.

"B-But, Neesan," the twelve-year-old boy stuttered under his older sister's desperate gaze. "You can't have them yet! Just wait until this thing is over, and then you can have them!" His grip on the headphones loosened and tightened periodically, which wasn't a good sign at all. He was getting ready to give in to her command.

Luckily, at that moment, the final person that they were waiting for arrived. Chikafuji-San, carrying in a clipboard with him, greeted the people within the room with a warm smile and a girl with light yellow eyes and long disheveled black hair wearing a strange dress consisting of several different shades of reds and oranges at his side. "Ah, welcome back, friends!" Chikafuji greeted them kindly. "It's so nice to see you all again, how are you doing?"

Mrs. Abe left without giving an answer, but the Hasegawa family stayed at their usual place. They always stayed until they were told that they had to leave so that Chikafuji could "work his magic," as he put it.

There was a chorus of teenagers replying with a "good, how are you?" and Chikafuji smiled. "I'm fine, thank you for asking! Now, I would like to introduce our newest friend, Yezhov Ninka; everyone, say hi to Ninka-Chan."

"Hi."

"Hello."

"..."

"Bitch"

Fumio covered Hana's ears with a pained expression on his face the moment that Ishikawa opened his mouth while his little sister looked up at him, curiosity in her eyes.

Chikafuji grimaced at the last reply, scolded Masaki for his rude outburst, and told him to watch his language, but Ninka didn't look that affected in the least. In fact, she was still grinning.

"Well, hello, peoples!" She shouted out in her slight Russian accent. "We are _sooooo_ happy to meet you all! It's such a pleasure to be here!" As she said this, she plopped down in one of the two plastic chairs, grinning from ear to ear.

Chikafuji looked over at the surprised faces of the Hasegawa family and smiled. "Now, if you three would please leave, that would be very much appreciated."

Fumio nodded and ushered Hana and Kazuki out of the room along with him, leaving behind Yuzuki with Chikafuji, the new girl, and the three boys that she's been doing group therapy with for the past year and a half.

Still smiling, Chikafuji- whom actually preferred that his patients called him by his first name, Ayumu- sat down on his own chair. "Now, kids, since we've got a new friend, why don't we re-do all of our introductions for Ninka-Chan? I'll start: My name is Chikafuji Ayumu and I'm twenty-nine years old. My hobbies are to spend time with my family and friends and to take pictures. Now, Ninka-Chan, would you mind telling us about yourself?"

The girl giggled giddily and nodded vigorously. "As you already know, my name is Yezhov Ninka, and I am sixteen years of age." If Yuzuki was paying any attention, this might have been a little surprising. She looked to be at least eighteen. "I'm from Russia and I love everything from lollipops and rainbows to rain and grizzly bears. Tag; you're it!" She suddenly jabbed the person sitting next to her, the grumpy-looking boy that called her a bitch earlier, in the ribs.

The boy growled and narrowed his eyes, getting ready to pounce on Ninka for jabbing him so mercilessly, but just as he was about to, he caught sight of Ayumu shaking his head at him disapprovingly. He growled. "My name is Ishikawa Masaki and I'm fourteen. And you, and pretty much everyone else in this room, really piss me off."

Since she sat next to Masaki, it was Yuzuki's turn, however, she only kept rocking back and forth in her chair, eyes wide.

"Yuzuki-Chan?" Ayumu questioned her tentatively.

She didn't reply, just remained silent.

"Will you please introduce yourself to Ninka?"

After a slight shake of the head, he gave up, instead opting to speak for her. "Alright, then, Ninka-Chan, this is Hasegawa Yuzuki. She's your age, actually, and she really likes listening to music."

Ninka waved at the girl excitedly, ignoring the fact that it didn't even seem like the quiet girl was interested in her in the least. "Nice to meet you, Yuzuki-Chan!" She frowned for a moment. "That's a bit of a mouthful, so I'll call you Yu-Chan, alright?" She smiled again, despite the fact that she still wouldn't even look at her. "OK, then, you! The only boy in here with black hair! It's your turn!"

The boy sitting next to Yuzuki, who, indeed _was_ the only male within the room that wasn't a brunette, didn't give much notice to her demanding tone, so he just went ahead with his turn. Better to get it over with quickly. "I'm Abe Kin," he said with an almost dead look in his eyes. "I'm seventeen and I like to listen to the rain."

_"That sounds to emo..."_

_"Yes, but don't we like rain, too...?"_

_"Yeah, but we don't make it sound like it's the only thing we like to do..."_

_"Feodora has a point, Halina..."_

The boy sitting next to Kin took the time that Ninka was using for eavesdropping on her voices to introduce himself in a very undignified fashion. "My name is Ryuu Ito, I'm fifteen, and I'm nothing but a nuisance and a failure in life." Sobbing ensued after this and Ayumu, after a couple of seconds, began his rounds of speaking with everyone, starting with Ryuu since he seemed to be in such a horrible state at the moment.

While Ryuu was in the process of spilling out his sorrows to Ayumu and the others, Ninka was busy looking around at the people she was with and faintly wondered if public school was like this, since almost nobody except Ayumu and herself seemed to be paying much attention to Ryuu's worries and she'd heard before that almost nobody listens to their teachers. She also found that she could discern very little of what Ryuu was saying. Dead dad. Bullies. Mother working too much. Loud baby brother. But she tried her best to listen and learn from this experience. After all, one of the things she loved to do most was understand the complexity of human emotions, which is one of the many reasons she had become so attached to Izaya the first time she met him.

After what seemed like ten minutes of sobbing and talking and even more sobbing, Ayumu said something that sounded like "and we're all here to support you Ryuu-Kun, aren't we, guys?"

Following in tow with the rest of the group, Ninka bobbed her head up and down like the obedient little girl she was. And soon enough, Ryuu had calmed down and the attention had turned to Yuzuki.

"Ah, so Yuzuki-Chan, how was your week?"

No answer. Just staring. And staring. And more staring. And– Wait, no! Ninka nearly jumped out her seat in joy and pointed. "Look, look, she blinked!"

Ayumu almost sighed at the fact that Ninka was more enthusiastic than Yuzuki and promptly decided to ignore the young Russian girl before moving back to the current patient at hand. 'Yes' or 'no' questions it was. "Did you have a good week?" A shrug of the shoulders. "Are you still coming home late?" A nod of the head. "You know that you should get home earlier than eleven at night, don't you? You shouldn't stay out by yourself so late." Just a somewhat desperate-looking stare. "Are you still using that quote I taught you last year?"

A small smile tugged at her lips and she nodded her head with tired enthusiasm in her eyes.

At the fact that he actually got a real reaction out of Yuzuki, Ayumu smiled as well. "That's good. Has it been helping you at all?" Another nod. It warmed his heart a bit, knowing that he had managed to help dig this girl out of the hole she fell into about two or three years ago. This kind of stuff was why he loved his job. "Alright, then, Yuzuki-Chan, I'm going to finish our rounds and then come back to you, just to make sure we give everyone a turn today, alright?"

Yuzuki nodded in response, her smile disappearing, and Ayumu's gaze moved around the small circle before he found Ninka humming to herself happily. "So, Ninka, if you don't mind my asking, why are you here?"

"My parents think that I'm crazy." There was no trace of bitterness or resentment that he could pick up in her tone. This was just a fact. Her parents, simply put, thought that she was crazy.

"Oh?" He leaned forward in his seat. "And why would they say that?"

"I hear voices," she told him quietly in an excited manner. "They're some of the best friends that I could ever ask for. I've always really liked them, but Mama and Papa never think that I'm telling the truth." She closed her eyes and nodded to herself, as if agreeing with her own words. "Not that I can really blame them, but it's true! They're real!"

Ayumu looked at her with concern written all over his face, brows furrowed. He'd hear of severe cases like Ninka's all the time in movies, books, and his old text books and such, but he'd never had a patient tell him that they actually heard voices. It was a new, unexpected topic that he never though would pop up in his lifetime. So, as if to make sure he heard the girl right, he questioned her. "Uh, voices?" She nodded enthusiastically, but didn't say anything. "Oh, that's certainly… interesting. What are they like, Ninka-Chan?"

"Oh, well, there's Anesia-Chan," Ninka started off. "She talks to me the most, really. She's really fun to talk with, too. And then there's Feodora-Chan. She's not really that nice when talking about other people, but she's a good friend, really! And then Halina-Chan is always so sad…" She trailed off with a pout on her face. "She's always so depressed, and I can't help but cry whenever she's crying." Suddenly, she brightened up again. "And then Kalina-Chan can get angry really easily, but she mostly means well. She's nice to me and the other voices." Her brows suddenly furrowed. "I'm not too fond of Innochka, though. She's a little _too_ nice. It really irks me. Feodora doesn't like her either, so I never really listen to her, and she hasn't spoken to me in a while."

With his eyebrows forever creased together, Ayumu tried to process this in his mind, but not before Masaki beat him to it.

"Wow, you're really effed up in the head."

Ayumu was getting ready to chide the boy for his rude behavior and _almost_ foul language (well, at least this _was_ an improvement from last week) _again_; however, he noticed that Ninka did not look upset, but instead giggled happily, as if it was some funny joke.

"_As if he should be talking."_

Ah, Feodora really was funny.

"Is there anyone else?" Ayumu asked the girl as she tried to stop laughing. She sat in her chair with a finger poised on her chin for a moment, thinking it out.

"_I'm still here…"_

"Oh," Ninka snapped her fingers and looked up towards the ceiling, as if she just remembered something. "I'm so sorry, Mana-Chan. I didn't mean to forget you!" She turned back to the worried face of Ayumu, not even bothering to look at the disturbed faces of the others. "There's one more voice that I forgot to tell you about: Mana-Chan" No one responded, only stared at her. "Mana-Chan only came out a little while after I moved here to Japan and now that I think about it, she only really talks whenever a certain someone is around or when we're talking about him." She suddenly frowned. "Which is really sad, because she's so nice. Honestly, I think she's just a little lonely up there." She suddenly banged on the side of her head, as if knocking on a door. "Mana-Chan, if you're listening, I want you to know that I love you!"

"_Love…"_

For the first time that day, Ayumu wrote something down on the piece of paper on the clipboard that he had brought in with him earlier. If he looked concerned a few minutes ago, then he looked like he was about to die of worry now. "Is there anything else?" Ninka shook her head in response and he nodded, eyes closed. "Now, you say that this 'Mana-Chan' only talks to you when a certain someone is around. Who is this person?"

"Only the love of my life," Ninka said, fanning her hand over her heart with a far-off look in her eyes.

Yuzuki stopped rocking. She had randomly noticed that there was a pair of earplugs hanging out of Ninka's purse ever-so slightly. She had a source of music on her.

A new light of life popped into Ayumu's eyes. His friends and family didn't tease him by calling him a hopeless romantic for no reason; he was like a teenage girl when it came to anything to do with cheesy romance or love. "Oh, so you like someone, then? Who is he? Your boyfriend?"

At this change of subject, Ninka's attitude brightened considerably and she started to bounce up and down in her chair. "Oh, no; he's not my boyfriend, or at least not _yet_. But I really, really like him! He's stunningly hansom, incredibly smart, and really, really funny! He's just too perfect to be true! We're like soul mates or something!"

Yuzuki listened to her ramble aimlessly about this boy, but for the most part couldn't keep her mind trained on what she was saying. She just kept her eyes on the earplugs sticking out of Ninka's purse. Maybe, if she stared at it long enough, the IPod she was carrying would magically appear in front of her so that she could have her music back…

Ayumu steadily leaned forward in his chair with a look of deep interest on his features. "Oh? And what's his name?"

"Izaya!"

Yuzuki jolted out of her trance and stared at the loving adoration on the face that belonged to none other than Ninka. Her hands were clasped together and she had a dreamy look on her face.

She couldn't have _really_ just said that name, could she?

But a strange name like that was so hard to misconstrue.

"_Orihara_… Izaya…?"

Everyone turned to Yuzuki as she questioningly uttered these words.

"Oh? So you know Iza-Kun?" Ninka's eyes shone as she turned to look at Yuzuki.

She nodded numbly. "Orihara Izaya…" She repeated quietly.

"That's amazing!" Ninka exclaimed, throwing her arms out in the air joyously. "Isn't he great? He just gives off this wonderful aura that makes everyone love him, doesn't he?" She sighed momentarily. "I mean, he's cute and sweet and funny and smart and just overall amazing! I just love, love, love him!"

Yuzuki was looking into her lap as her reply came out of her mouth without her own consent. "… He's strange… Followed me home last night..."

They hushed for a moment while everyone tried to take in exactly what it was that Yuzuki was saying, although for the majority of the room, that would probably take a while because, although they've known her for over a year now, they had always thought that if Yuzuki ever spoke more than five words at a time, she would explode or something. But that theory seemed to have just been terminated not even a moment ago. However, Ninka processed the situation though her head much more quickly, and when she did, a lone little voice rang through her head like a bell in a church.

_"No..."_

Yuzuki was staring directly at her, although with no challenge or mockery in those brown eyes. Ninka couldn't see a thing.

"Yes, he is a little odd, isn't he?" She laughed a little, as if this was a funny joke. "But I guess that's why I love him. And, you know," She stared looking around the group while they collected thoughts and Ayumu was busy scribbling into his clip board. "Love is a really _funny_ emotion, isn't it? It can bring out such a vast mixture of emotions within you that it can be shocking when you first discover it." All eyes were on her now. She had the spotlight. "I, for example, have been brought a wide variety of emotions from my love: joy, loneliness, sorrow, comfort, envy," her gaze wandered until they landed directly on Yuzuki and those bottomless little pits that she calls eyes. "Hatred."

And, for that moment, even the most incompetent of people could physically see the immense envy, the hatred that was being conveyed in Ninka's eyes as she stared directly at Yuzuki with an almost murderous intent in them. And Yuzuki, believe it or not, was slightly statled for a moment, seeing this immense amount of hatred being throw at her with such a powerful force.

But, almost as soon as both of these unusual looks came, they vanished, almost as if in thin air, and were replaced by a blank stare from Yuzuki and a large smile on Ninka's face. "But we think everyone needs to learn from these emotions, right? Learn to forgive and forget," she threw her hands up in the air and laughed suddenly, nearly smacking her neighbor in the face. "That's what life is all about! We should _all_ learn to love, ne, Masa-Chan?" As if to back up this point, she lunged and hooked herself onto Masaki's arm as some sort of hug.

The young boy narrowed his eyes at her in anger and pushed her off almost immediately. However, Ninka couldn't be sure if the slightly red tint of his cheeks was from anger or embarrassment. "You call me that one more time, Yezhov, and I swear that I'll rip that smug look off your face and shove it up you-." One look from Ayumu, and he promptly shut up.

"And, Masaki," the young therapist said, "I would like to know how your week has been going so far as well. I got another call from your father last night, and he told me that you got into another fight at school yesterday."

The brunette boy scowled and looked down at the ground. "Well, that other guy was asking for it!" He defended himself. "I mean, first he…"

And, now, Ninka stopped listening to what was being said, for she had completed her mission. She had successfully diverted the attention away from her and managed to melt the stiff atmosphere that had previously occupied the room. She also seemed fairy friendly, bubbly, and possibly even a little mentally unstable on the surface now, as well, which only counted as a bonus. Not many people would be able to see the boiling rage that was held in her eyes. So, she looked back at Yuzuki, the dull eyes of hers, and tried to see if her message was well conveyed, but she couldn't be sure, since she still looked impassive.

Yuzuki's eyes were empty, and that made it all the more easy for Ninka to hate her.

* * *

><p>"Hello, are you Hasegawa Fumio?"<p>

Fumio looked up from the magazine he was reading to see a young, familiar-looking boy that seemed about his standing right in front of him. Blood red eyes, black hair, coat with a fur trim. He'd definitely seen him before, Fumio knew this for sure.

"Who're you?"

He obviously wasn't keen on answering the question without knowing who he was first, and the boy seemed to pick up on this rather quickly. A ghost of a smile crept up on his lips. "I'm Orihara Izaya, a friend of your little sister's. Yuzu-Chan told me that she usually has appointments around here on Saturdays, so I figured I'd come and see her after the session is done. I knew you had to be her brother immediately, since you two look so much alike."

On normal circumstances, Fumio might have actually felt a hint of pride at this, since his family life was so important to him. And someone saying that he looked like Yuzuki wasn't an insult, either; she wasn't ugly, very far from it, actually. They both had the same wavy black hair that came from their mother, warm brown eyes that everyone in their family had, and the round, heart-shaped face that they had inherited from their father. It was nice to be compared to Yuzuki, very much so, but after the first sentence that had popped out of Izaya's mouth, he couldn't help but be so shocked that he missed everything else he had said.

And the look of surprise that flittered across Fumio's face was much too amusing to miss out on. "_Yuzu-Chan_…?" Fumio repeated that nickname to himself in utter disbelief. What he wanted to say was '_Yuzuki actually _has_ friends_?' But the words never left his mouth. It just seemed a bit… cruel for him to say that about his own sister.

"Yes, Yuzu-Chan!" Izaya said cheerfully, his smile widening. "I thought that maybe while we were waiting for her appointment to end that I could sit down with you for a little while. After all, you looked pretty lonely, just sitting there all by yourself."

Hana had left with Kazuki a little while ago, as she usually does. Fumio personally never liked having his siblings stay around this place for too long; there was way too much of a depressing and (just a tiny bit) frightening atmosphere of this place, where people with mental and/or social disabilities come for help, for him to feel comfortable with them sticking around this building. So they were out for a walk while he stayed seated in the lobby with a few of the few other families that normally stuck around while Chikafuji kept his session going.

And, speaking of the other families, the new girl's parents were now staring at this Izaya boy with eyes as wide as saucers and were practically trembling.

But, no, he had never said that he wanted company when Izaya plopped down on the plastic seat next to him and started bobbing his knee up and down in a hyper manner. Pretty soon after, he started chattering on and on to him, not even stopping to let Fumio insert much of his opinion, not that he was trying. He was still in the process of figuring out why he was so familiar...

Then it hit him. "You're that guy from last night, aren't you?"

The knee's bobbing stopped, and Izaya's grin grew. He leaned back in his chair and stared up at the pure white ceiling. "I'm surprised you can remember that, Hasegawa-San," Izaya laughed momentarily. "I didn't think you actually even got to see me."

Fumio ignored this statement and, instead, asked another question. "You sure you're one of Yuzuki's friends? She never mentioned you." _Or anyone else, for that matter_.

"Yuzu-Chan hasn't mentioned me?" Izaya's face feigned shock and disappointment at this revelation, and Fumio felt himself becoming annoyed with his sarcasm. "Now, why wouldn't she? I mean, I _am_ her best friend!"

Fumio found his eyes narrowing at his sarcasm. "Exactly _how_ do you know Yuzuki, then?"

"I'm a senior at Raira," Izaya lied. He was twenty, and there was no way he'd have failed two years of school; he was much too smart for that. Still, he didn't think that Fumio would like the idea of his younger sister hanging out with a strange boy over the age of eighteen, and with people as early in age as himself, it can be hard to determine how old a person is just by looking at them. He could be as young as sixteen, if he just said so, but that might have been stretching it a bit. "I sometimes bumped into Yuzu-Chan on her way back from school, and we just started hanging out. But she doesn't talk very much at all." He frowned at this, as if he was truly upset by this fact. "Would you happen to know why?"

Izaya must have been a good actor, for Fumio seemed to buy it. For the time being, that is. He nodded in understanding. "Yeah, she's been like that for about two years now. I'm not sure what it is, but she just won't let anyone else into her life any more. I just don't know what to do." He closed his eyes, suddenly feeling more tired than he had in what felt like forever, and buried his face in his hands. "It kind of scares me, you know?"

Izaya nodded in some sort of supportive way and, while Fumio's eyes were closed, was able to take the time to allow a smirk to spread across his face.

_For someone studying to become a lawyer_, he thought to himself, _Fumi-Chan sure is stupid._

But as soon as Fumio's eyes opened again, his smile turned into something a bit less scary, and he moved his eyes around the room as a distraction. As soon as he spotted some familiar faces, however, the smirk threatened to come back pretty quickly. "Selena-Chan and Sergei-Kun!" He shouted out to the married couple sitting only a few seats down from them. "Don't tell me that Annie-Chan is here, too? How could you not tell me that you switched up her appointments?" He put a hand up to his chest and looked at them with what Fumio could only assume was supposed to be hurt, as if he was wounded by this course of action.

"A-Ah, Orihara-San!" Sergei smiled warily and clutched his wife's hand with a death grip. "Fancy meeting you here!" He started to laugh with a nervous tick and the woman next to him began to join in as if it were the most hilarious thing she'd ever heard. "Sorry, we just switched here last night, and didn't have enough time to tell you, but now it seems you know, huh?" More course, tense laughter ensued, and one might half-expect them to say something along the lines of "please don't kill us," just because of how terrified the two of them looked and sounded.

Fumio looked between Izaya and the married couple hesitantly. "You guys know each other?"

Izaya smiled widely at the change of subject. "Oh, yes, their daughter is a very good friend of mine; Annie-Chan and I hang out with each other all the time."

Sergei only dared to glare at Izaya with as much force as he possibly could and held on to Selena's hand even more tightly than before.

Izaya seemed to notice this and smirked momentarily before pretending to gasp in fear. "Why must you look at me like that, Sergei-Kun? Is it really such a crime for me to be friends with such a charming and intelligent young girl such as Annie-Chan?"

Neither Sergei nor Selena answered him, but continued to stare with what looked like a mix of fear and anger.

Izaya sighed, as if suddenly bored with what was going on. "But, I should be taking my leave now; duty calls." He bounced up out of his chair and waved as he walked out of the door. "Sayonara!"

Fumio simply sat there, watching the door, even long after Orihara was out of his sight.

Something seemed really off about him...

* * *

><p>Yuzuki sat quietly in her alley, staring at the wall in front of her with a strange sense of peace in her murky brown eyes.<p>

Saturday was always her favorite day of the week because she got to stay out for as long as she liked and there was no reason to get up early the next morning. Adding on to that, her father has Sundays off, so he'll be in the kitchen, drinking a hot cup of coffee and reading the newspaper when she wakes up in the morning. Not that it really mattered to her. Her conversations with her father were always one-sided and brief. There was simply nothing to say to one another. The only reason that her father's presence was of any relief to her was that Fumio got a load off from the stress of being in charge of his three siblings for the day.

But she supposed that her relationship with her father was better than the one she had with her mother. The woman was kind to Yuzuki, yes, but she got the feeling that her mother actually _pitied_ her because of the fact that she had very little to no social activity in her life.

And pity was one of the many things that Yuzuki _hated_ about humans.

The sound of footsteps entered the alley, but she didn't try to identify her visitor. She couldn't care less who it was. "Ah, there you are, Yuzu-Chan!"

She didn't bother to look up at the owner of the voice; she knew who it was without even thinking about it. Only he or Kazuki would call her that, but her little brother had no idea where she usually went to during her free time, and this voice didn't have that 'I haven't quite hit puberty yet' quality that Kazuki owned. No, she knew for a fact that this person had to be Orihara.

In less than ten seconds, the red eyed man had taken the time to stand directly in the middle of her line of vision, so that Yuzuki was looking at his jeans. After he did so, the teenage girl promptly averted her gaze to somewhere else without a single word.

Catching her eyes retreat off into the distance, Izaya's lips tilted upward.

"What are you doing there on the ground, Yuzu-Chan?" He asked, leaning forward to get a better look at the girl, watching as she fidgeted slightly in her position and pulled her legs up to her chest, yet still kept her eyes in position. "Isn't it kind of dirty there?"

Wordlessly, Yuzuki stood up and began to walk away, outside of the little alley she normally resided in during her free time.

There goes her Saturday.

Now Izaya frowned, not seeming to approve of her course of action. And of course he didn't; he thought that she would just sit there and take whatever he would say to her, diminishing into a little puddle all the while. However, Yuzuki didn't really seem all too keen on the idea of him verbally assaulting her again.

Then his grin slowly returned. This must mean that he already got to her from their first encounter, for one thing. For another, what was life without a surprise here and there? A human's free will and complex, unpredictable emotions and actions were what he loved most about them, weren't they?

And so Izaya happily skipped on after her.

"Awe~, Yuzu-Chan!" He whined. "Don't ignore me!"

The girl merely peered at him out of the corner of her eyes and resisted the urge to snort. He seemed much too old for that sort of behavior; it was utterly ridiculous. Instead, she adjusted her headphones over her ears and evened out some wrinkles on her shirt.

"You're so mean," Izaya complained as she only continued to ignore him. "Maybe _that's_ why you have no friends."

Yuzuki had never really considered herself to be a particularly unkind person, just reserved. And even if she was considered mean, she knew that wasn't really her reason for having no friends. It's her own anti-social behavior that led to her being a loner. That's all there was to it, really. And she was perfectly fine with being alone. In fact, she prefered it that way.

Or that's what she thought, at least.

And Izaya watched her carefully, trying to read her body language as best as he could, since her face gave almost nothing away. Normally, she had her back slightly hunched over, her head was lowered to look at the ground beneath her feet as she walked, and yet she seemed to look perfectly at ease, with relaxed muscles and slouched shoulders. And although her back and head were in their normal position, he noticed that her shoulders were rigid, and that she kept fiddling with things like her short wavy hair, clothes, and headphones, which was something unusual. She was normally so still, but now she looked as if she had ADD or something.

But she still wouldn't acknowledge his presence.

So, for good measure, he flicked her in the back of the head with his index finger to see if he could get her to do something more exciting. There was no response, and so Izaya sighed in a disappointed manner.

If there only two things that Orihara Izaya could hate, they would be Heiwajima Shizuo, and being ignored.

"So boring," he complained. Yet again, he received no response, and Yuzuki looked as if she was trying to concentrate on her music or something, steadily tapping a beat on her leg with the palm of her hand. At this, the young man frowned. She was being much better at ignoring him today than the day before, that he was sure of.

And so this is why he stole her headphones and mockingly held them out in front of her face.

An alarmed look went in his direction as Yuzuki stared at him in shock. He found the reaction to be pleasing, so he smirked and held them just out of her reach when she stretched out a hand to take them back.

"Give them."

Now his eyebrows raised and he resisted laughing. "There's no need to be so rude, Yuzu-Chan! I had to do something to get you to stop ignoring me, didn't I?"

"Give them back, Orihara."

"My, my, it seems as if someone's being rather vocal today!" He took a few steps back when she began to try and pry them from his hands, then playfully waved them around in the air. "What is it that you like about these things, anyway? It seems like it would be rather boring to just listen to music all day!" And, as if to prove his point, he shoved the headphones over his own ears, only to frown ever so slightly afterwards.

_Odd…_

Izaya's face scrunched up and he followed the cord of the headphones until he found where they met her iPod, and snatched that from her as well. He ignored her pathetic wails of protests and scrolled through her playlists and music, but all the while, the only thing that he ever heard was Yuzuki repeatedly telling him to give the devices back to her.

There was nothing on her iPod. No songs, no videos, no apps. Nothing.

Izaya blinked, then burst into a fit of laughter. "Oh, wow, Yuzuki!" He got the words out between giggles. "I always knew you were a bit of a freak, but this is just weird on a whole new level, even for you!"

Yuzuki found that she could feel these words like a knife that was just thrust into her abdomen, and took a step back from the laughing man as if he would actually do so any moment.

It wasn't as if she hadn't heard these words before- she was told that she was a freak on almost a daily basis- but somehow Izaya made them seem even crueler, just saying so as casually as he just did, actually making fun of her as if it was a simple flaw that one could poke fun at without causing any hurt feelings. As if it was an acceptable fact about her.

But she didn't get it. What was so weird?

Izaya seemed to notice her sudden discomfort and smirked, stepping even closer to her. "Oh, did I hit a sore spot, Yuzu-Chan?" She didn't answer, only stared straight ahead, as if looking through him, so Izaya leaned forward so that their noses were almost touching. At this close proximity, she almost looked taken aback. Almost. "I think I did," he breathed out, sounding excited. "So, do you want me to apologize or something?"

He could see it from the hardened look in her eyes. Yes, she did want an apology.

The young man smirked, then leaned back again and laughed bitterly. "Well, good luck trying to get one out of me. I'm not normally one to apologize very easily; almost anyone that knows me could tell you that." He looked down at her with a little gleam of amusement held in his gaze. "However," then he leaned back, and this time it looked as if his blood red eyes were studying her, scrutinizing her every move, "I might if you actually _ask_ me to."

There was a tiny flicker within her eyes at that moment, and she looked slightly debated. Only it didn't look as if she was about to demand for any sort of apology. It looked much more intense for something like that, more angry than hurt. A little fire had burned in her eyes, a boiling rage that looked as if it were threatening to swallow her entire being whole and make her lose all self-control she once had.

He could have sworn that she looked as if she wanted to murder him.

But that fire burned out almost immediately, and soon her worn brown eyes wandered back to the ground as she remembered the quote that Ayumu had taught her, the very one that helped her in situations much like this one.

"Sticks and stones," she mumbled quietly, as if talking to herself. She started to repeat this over and over again as if it held some sort of significant meaning to her and Izaya only watched steadily as the grin spread across his features at a rapid rate until it almost looked painful. He chuckled and, while she was in the process of repeating this to herself, put her iPod back into her pocket and her headphones over her ears, but she never seemed to notice this, as she kept rambling on and on about sticks and stones, sticks and stones, sticks and stones…

And, it was at that moment, maybe even a little before, that Izaya realized that his suspicion about Yuzuki and Ninka being alike in one way was true: they _were_ both completely and utterly insane.

But, who knows, maybe that was why he had taken such a liking to them. After all, the minds of the insane were often much more unique and individual from the plain, stable minds of others. And that's why he loved human so much. They were so interesting, so different from one another, so it made each person a little different to understand than others.

And Yuzuki was no different. She just seemed to be a little all over the place with her personality. No problems, right? It just made her all the more fun to mess with when he actually got her to do something. Her reactions and occasionally the different looks in her eyes made everything worth it in the end. So, insane or not, Yuzuki was the perfect toy to occupy his spare time with.

For now, anyway.

And so he walked away, figuring that he wouldn't get anything else interesting out of her for the day. And he was right; ten minutes after Izaya had left, Yuzuki had suddenly snapped back to her senses and realized that the headphones were back over her ears. With a smile now on her face, she slowly made her way back to her house, even though it was only six in the afternoon. She'd probably just sleep in all day, or maybe even finally do her homework for a change.

… No. Probably not.

Homework. Too much thinking, kind of like Izaya, now that she thought about it. She could never figure either of them out, and the more she thought about them, the more confused she would get. And, just like her teachers at school, the more Izaya talked, the more she thought, only that Izaya made her think about herself a lot more often. And she didn't like thinking, especially about herself.

_Izaya_… Maybe she was a freak, maybe she wasn't. But she didn't understand his logic. Was it really that weird that she likes to listen to music? Or did he just have his own preference in music as well and not like hers?

She shook her head. _Orihara. Too much thinking. Giving me a headache…_

On the rest of her way back home, she kept her mind trained on the music pouring out of her head and steadily tapped a nonexistent beat on her leg with the palm of her hand

* * *

><p>"<em>The nerve of that girl…"<em>

"_I swear I'm going to kill her…"_

"_Why would she say that…?"_

"_She's the one, isn't she…?"_

"_Mana, stop scaring her…"_

"_Yes, just because Yuzuki is his new favorite doesn't mean that Izaya doesn't still like Ninka…"_

Ninka sat on top of the roof of her family's apartment building, gripping her head tightly. Strands of long black hair were tangled in with her fingertips and her eyes were wide and full of mixed emotions. Anger, sadness, jealousy, hatred were all burning deeply in her eyes. "Don't talk all at once," she spoke quietly to the whispers in her head. Her voice was shaky and the raging emotions in it were unmistakable. "You guys are giving me a headache."

"_But Ninka…"_

"_We want to help…"_

"_You shouldn't be so sad…"_

"I said be quiet!"

This sudden outburst seemed to quiet the voices for a short amount of time, and Ninka kicked at the roof, the emotion of anger finally taking the best of her. Suddenly she bellowed out her voice in a cry of pure fury. "Damn it!" She shouted as loud as she possibly could. "Damn it, damn it, damnitdamnitdamnitDAMN-"

"Hey, kid!" She looked down to see a woman, probably in her late twenties or something, walking along the sidewalk. Chin-length black hair, very short jeans, gray leggings, zipped up oversized black jacket, black baseball cap. The only thing out of place was a bright purple ribbon around her wrist that looked as if it was supposed to serve as a bracelet. She couldn't make out most of her facial features or see her eye color, since the building she was standing on top of was two stories tall, but if she had to take a guess, her eyes would probably be as dark in color as the rest of her appearance.

Ninka could just barely make out the woman's lips moving before her deep voice hit her ears again. "What do you keep damning so profusely up there?"

"None of your business," Ninka shouted back down at her, yellow eyes narrowing as she did so.

"_Who does she think she is? She has no right to know…"_

"_Don't be so cruel, Feodora. She's only trying to be kind…"_

"_Shut up, Innochka; no one wants to talk to you…"_

Ninka suddenly groaned again and grabbed at her head. "I said to stop talking," she growled rather loudly and the voices did as they were told.

The woman was watching her in the meanwhile, head tilted back lazily to watch the girl sitting on the edge of the roof. About a moment after Ninka's sudden outburst of telling her voices to shut up, the woman looked off to the side. "Hey, stay there, will you?" Without waiting for a response, the woman dashed off down the street.

Ninka huffed, but didn't move from her spot. She wasn't planning on leaving any time soon, anyway. Her parents locked her out of the apartment for a while after she finally snapped and started throwing things around her room, telling her to 'cool down' for a few hours. She didn't really have anywhere else to go.

Only a minute later, the woman returned, this time with a bag over her shoulder. She deftly climbed on top of a garbage bin and the grabbed a window just above that area with her hands, slowly pulling her feet up after her before continuing on like that. And, just like that, she had managed to climb to the top of the roof without breaking a sweat. She must have practiced parkour to be able to scale the side of the building that easily. Ninka herself had just used the stairs.

After making it to the roof, the woman walked toward Ninka and sat down next to her, but the teen girl never spared her a glance. After standing by the ledge for a moment or two, the woman pulled something out of her bag and handed it to her: a Push Pop. She pulled a second one out of the bag and opened it for herself, sitting down next to Ninka. "I got these from the ice cream stand just down the street," the woman explained as she took a lick from her ice cream.

The prospect of the tasty frozen treat seemed to brighten her mood, for Ninka opened up the ice cream and took a few licks for herself with a smile on the face. "Yummy!" She exclaimed, looking at the woman. She had been right about her eyes: they were a stormy gray, but that wasn't the most striking thing about her. Her face was practically covered in lightly-colored pink scars. From the looks of them, she must have gotten into a fight with someone wielding a knife a few years back or so. One of the most striking scars that she carried with her was one that ran vertically past her left eye, which was pretty much glued shut, as she hadn't seen it open once. She could see the pink line run across her eyelid and almost became a little uncomfortable looking at her.

"_Ugly…"_

That was the word that Feodora whispered into her mind, and Ninka silently found herself agreeing, although she wouldn't say so aloud. Even she had enough self-control to refrain from voicing such thoughts.

"_It looks like it must have hurt…"_

Halina's words filled her with a sudden jolt of guilt for some reason, and she found herself looking away from the woman only a moment later.

It was silent between the two of them for a long time; mostly them just watching the sun sink steadily past the buildings in front of them while licking their ice-creams in a calm, peaceful manner. The streaks in the now orange sky seemed to match Ninka's outfit perfectly.

"Life really sucks sometimes." It was the other woman that had spoken, and Ninka turned her head again to look at her, only to see that she was still staring at the sky with a focused gaze, the shade from her hat creating a shadow on her face. "But, you know, it gets better; a lot better. You'll be able to see that soon."

Ninka suddenly noticed that it wasn't just her face that was covered in scars, but pretty much the rest of her body as well. Legs. Hands. She was missing one of her pinkie fingers…

"Yeah, we know that." Ninka chirped. "Life has all sorts of ups and downs, ups and downs, ups and downs," as she said this, she attempted to demonstrate by waving her arms upwards and downwards like some sort of rollercoaster, but then just burst out laughing, throwing her hands out in the air. "It's so much fun!"

"_Yes, yes, so much fun, Ninka…"_

Now the woman's head was turned towards her, so that the eye without the scar running through it was looking at her inquisitively. "Didn't look like you were having much fun a minute ago, when you were throwing that temper tantrum."

At this, Ninka puffed out her cheeks. "It was not a temper tantrum," she protested. "I was simply venting out to the heavens." She lowered her voice suddenly, as if telling her a secret. "You see, I have some slight anger issues, believe it or not, and my old therapist said that yelling rather than maiming other people or inanimate objects is a better idea." Her face suddenly scrunched up in what looked like distaste. "We don't really agree, though; it's a lot more boring."

The woman's eyebrows scrunched together and she looked away awkwardly, as if she suddenly just now realized how insane the girl really was. "OK, then…" Even so, she didn't walk away, which Ninka found herself appreciating. She never really liked being alone, and the voices were being a pain in the ass at the moment, so having this stranger's company was rather nice.

Smiling, Ninka suddenly stretched out her hand to the older woman, who turned her head to look at it questioningly. "My name's Ninka. You?"

The woman studied her hand for a moment longer, as if contemplating on her next course of action. But eventually, Ninka's smile was returned, and she grasped the outstretched hand with her own pinkie-less one. "Sasayai."

After the shaking of hands was exchanged, the name seemed to have clicked in Ninka's mind, for she suddenly burst out laughing. "Sasayai," she repeated. "What an odd name!" **(1*)**

At this, Sasayai playfully jabbed her in the stomach with a grin of her own. "You're one to be talking," she said. "I mean, Ninka? Is that supposed to be German or something?"

"Russian, actually," the teenage girl corrected her with a grin. She suddenly jumped to her feet, having finished her ice-cream. She gave the older woman another big smile. "You know, I like you, Sasa-Chan," she told her with a hint of finality in her voice. "But I think we're going to leave now to harass the world since I'm already _way_ behind that on my daily schedule." She frowned suddenly, as if remembering something. "I probably already missed Iza-Kun, though." At this she sighed, then brightened up with another smile. "But back onto topic; since I like you, but I've gotta go, I'm going to be keeping an eye out for you, OK?"

It took a moment for Sasayai to be able to sort out what she had just said between all the rambling, but when she did, her smile widened. "Alright, see you around, kid." She waved nonchalantly.

"Yeah, bye, Sasa-Chan!" With one last wave, Ninka turned around and skipped all the way to the door that stood on the roof, already on her way down to the ground floor.

She'd have to get Sasayai to teach her how to scale a building sometime.

**Noel Note**

**1*: Sasayai translated into Japanese, means "whispered".**

**OK, so that's it. Just tell me what you think, I guess. I personally think this is _way_ better than it was before I edited/remodeled, but please just review and tell me your opinion.**

**Oh, and I'd like to give a big shout-out to my first two reviewers, XxAmi . IzunexX, and darkangel . adam. Thank you guys **_**so much**_** for the support; I'm really honored that you liked the story so much!**

**Thanks for reading, and please don't forget to review; you're amazing!**

**~Noel-Chan**


	3. Noel Note

**I have very urgent news concerning this story and this account _as a whole_. Please see my profile page for details.**


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